CRAFT:

CRAFT Valentine's Day Card Contest and Inspirational Links

Hi Crafters! You've got until this Friday at 5pm PST to get your entries in for the "Recycle Your Heart" CRAFT Valentine's Day Card Contest! Just remember you must include some sort of recycled goods in your card, and it can be made with any kind of craft you wish. Upload the photo of your card to our CRAFT Flickr pool and tag the photo with craftvdaycontest. Winners will be announced on Valentine's Day, February 14th, and will receive a copy of CRAFT: 02 and an exclusive CRAFT T-shirt. But wait -- there's more! Each winner will also receive a 1-month free subscription to The Sampler, samples from small, indie businesses who like you and think you're nice!

The guest judges are Megan Readon from Not Martha, Garth Johnson from Extreme Craft, and Tiffany Threadgould from Tiffany Tomato Designs. More details of the rules are here - Link.

Here's some inspirational links to help you get started:

Valentine Ornament by Angry Chicken, Origami Heart by hale_popoki, Love Stinks by Julie Jackson.

From Etsy: Magazine envelopes, Mini recycled slide books, and Scooter magnets.

• CRAFT blog archives (check out directly - recycle, holiday projects, paper crafts, stamps, printing, digital design & photography) - Link.
• Not Martha Valentine's Day links - Link.
• Shannon at Alternation has links to tips and projects on sewing cards - Link.
• Crochet Pattern Central: Free heart patterns - Link.
• Knitting Pattern Central: Free heart Patterns - Link.
• Heart quilting blocks - Link.

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CRAFT Valentine's Day Projects

Hi Crafters! We've got three new projects up in our Project section. For the perfect DIY gift for your loved ones or even for yourself, learn how to take any special photo and create a photo block in our DIY Photo Block project. Next take ordinary playing cards and sew them into a Queen of Hearts Cuff. Adorn them with any ribbons or beads. Finally, when you want to make your own Valentine's Day cookies and don't seem to have any heart cookie cutters around, learn how to take a pumpkin cookie cutter and hack it into the perfect valentine. Link.

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HOW TO - Tea Stain Valentine's Day Cards

The Feb how-to on The Sampler is from Aida of Two Busy Bees on how to tea stain your Valentine's Day cards. Link.

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Lollypop Covers

Laurie shares with us her cute technique on how to make lollypops even cuter -- make some lollypop covers! Link.

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HOW TO - Make a Valentine's Day Wreath from Paint Chip Cards

Stephanie pointed us to a cool project made by LishDDorset of Handmade Detroit on making a Valentine's Day wreath out of paint chip cards! Link.

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Use Paper CD Cases to Hold Valentine's Day Cookies

Kiddley, the kids' craft site, points to Norththreads cool idea to use paper CD cases to hold Valentine's Day cookies. Of course! The see-through area is perfect for optimum cookie viewing. via Link.

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Stitch 'n Ride to Stitches West, Feb 24th

Break out your knitting needles -- it's time for the 4th annual Stitch 'n Ride on February 24, 2007. Capitol Corridor's Annual Stitch 'n Ride event is back, sponsored by CRAFT magazine and Chronicle Books. Join the Capitol Corridor onboard train 727 to Stitches West 2007 in Santa Clara. Sponsored by Knitter's Magazine, the convention is a chance for knitters and other crafty types, both beginners and experts to meet with authors, take classes, learn to knit, and shop in the marketplace. Ditch the car and come knit with us and other locals who share the crafty bug. The Stitch 'n Ride will have goody bags and fun prizes to give away as you sit and stitch with fellow knitters and arrive at Stitches West ready for more. Visit the Stitch 'n Ride website for train schedules and more information. Link.

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Call For Makers: Maker Faire Bay Area 2007

Dear Makers,

We are pleased to announced Bay Area Maker Faire 2007!

Organized by the staff of MAKE and CRAFT magazines, Maker Faire is a newfangled fair that brings together science, art, craft an engineering in a fun, energized, and exciting public forum. The aim is to inspire people of all ages to roll up their sleeves and become makers. This family-friendly event showcases the amazing work of all kinds of makers--anyone who is embracing DIY and wants to share their accomplishments with an appreciative audience. Last year, we had 20,000 people at Maker Faire.

Maker Faire Bay Area will take place May 19-20, 2007 at the San Mateo Fairgrounds. We are also adding Maker Faire Austin for October 20-21, 2007 at the Travis County Fairgrounds. This call is primarily for Maker Faire Bay Area but you can indicate if you are interested in participating in Maker Faire Austin.

We encourage you to join the fun and propose a maker exhibit, performance or workshop. You can submit a proposal through the web using the link described below or you can come show us your work at a Maker Faire "audition" on Saturday, February 24 at TechShop in Menlo Park, CA.

Proposals We invite proposals for Maker workbench exhibits, workshops, presentations and performances for the Maker Faire. We are interested in proposals from individuals as well as from groups such as hobbyist clubs and schools.

Maker Workbench: Our standard setup for Makers is a six-foot long workbench. You can use this workbench to display your work and/or demonstrate how you make something. Some makers don't need workbenches, typically because they have a large object or they set up outside. Please provide a short description of what you make and what you will bring to Maker Faire. Please link to photographs or videos of what you make. Let us know about any requirements you have, such as electricity, Internet, ventilation, etc.

Interactive Performance: We're seeking performances that will engage and entertain the attendees and enable them to interact in a fun way. The performances may be tied to a stage or roving through the fairgrounds as a kind of street theatre. Performances could be musical or theatrical, but they could also be a collaborative building process. For example, you might work with attendees to put something large together in an hour.

Presentation: These includes audio-visual presentations intended for showing a project (or process) that cannot be brought to the faire, or a special project that requires AV resources. These presentations are limited to 20 minutes. Please describe the topic of your presentation and what kind of media (audio/video) that you will have. As a general rule, PowerPoint presentations are not appropriate for this event unless they are unusually entertaining.

Demonstration Workshop: A demonstration workshop is a show-and-tell session on how to make something. We're looking for makers who can demonstrate (and teach) particular skills, techniques or processes. You should start off by explaining your materials and tools and then step-through a build process, sharing your knowledge and interacting with the audience. Sessions should be under 30 minutes in length and may be repeated on the program. Please describe the subject of your workshop and what kind of setup you need for it.

Application Form: Please go to the following URL and fill it out to apply for participation as a maker. http://makerfaire.com/bayarea/2007/proposal/

All proposals will be reviewed and we will notify makers of acceptance via email by March 19, 2007.

NOTE: Presenters whose talks are accepted will receive free registration to Maker Faire. We cannot pay for travel and accommodations. (We do make exceptions under some circumstances.) If you have any questions about participating in Maker Faire, please contact Natalie Villalobos by email: info@makerfaire.com. Please let Natalie know if you plan to come to the audition at TechShop.

Key Points:

• Maker Proposal Due: Midnight (PST): Feb. 27, 2007
• Maker Faire Bay Area Audition: Saturday Feb. 24, 2007
• Notification of Acceptance: March 19, 2006
• Confirmation of Participation: April 2, 2007
• Maker Faire Bay Area: May 19-20, 2007; Saturday 10-6 pm; Sunday 10-5pm.
• Maker Faire Austin: October 20 & 21, 2007
• Application Form: http://makerfaire.com/bayarea/2007/proposal/

Commercial Exhibitors If you are a commercial maker or you work for a company that would like to exhibit at Maker Faire, please contact Sherry Huss sherry@oreilly.com.

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